We need our own party, a labor party

Vol. 85/No. 16 - April 26, 2021

Statement by Róger Calero, Socialist Workers Party candidate for New York City mayor, April 14. There are two Americas. One that belongs to the propertied ruling families who own the banks, land, mines, factories, hospitals and other means of production…


‘Charge and prosecute cop who killed Daunte Wright’

Vol. 85/No. 16 - April 26, 2021

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — In response to the police killing of Daunte Wright here, thousands of people joined a 30-minute candlelight vigil April 12 organized by Wright’s family at the intersection where he died. The family set the protest to…


Death penalty abolished in Virginia, victory for workers

Vol. 85/No. 16 - April 26, 2021

“There is no place for the death penalty in this commonwealth, in the South or in this nation,” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam told the press as he signed a bill abolishing capital punishment March 24 in front of the Greensville…


Gerald Reed freed, decades after cop torture, frame-up

Vol. 85/No. 16 - April 26, 2021

CHICAGO — Four days after his release from prison, Gerald Reed, accompanied by supporters, told a news conference here, “This is a dream come true. I always told my family members that I’d come home, but I was wondering when.”…


Anti-labor outfit attacks miners strike, union

Vol. 85/No. 16 - April 26, 2021

Union coal miners in Brookwood, Alabama; steelworkers at ATI; and nurses in Worcester, Massachusetts, are on strike today, fighting against attacks by their bosses. They set an example to millions of workers and need and deserve solidarity. In the midst…


SWP campaign wins support for Marathon workers

Vol. 85/No. 16 - April 26, 2021

MARTINEZ, Calif. — Three campaign supporters joined Joel Britton, Socialist Workers Party candidate for California Assembly in the San Leandro area, above, campaigning at the afternoon shift change in front of the Martinez Refining Co. here April 8. “We explained…


SWP ‘stimulus’ donations up $20,000, now at $118,500

Vol. 85/No. 16 - April 26, 2021

Over the last week 18 new contributors have brought the growing total of contributions to the SWP from U.S. government $1,400 “stimulus” payments to $118,500 from 95 contributors around the country. We look forward to a growing total! Join the…


Philippine gov’t steps up deadly raids on labor, political activists

Vol. 85/No. 16 - April 26, 2021
Students protest in January at University of Philippines in Manila over attack on political rights by President Rodrigo Duterte. His government scrapped 1989 agreement barring cops from entering campus, alleging Maoist armed group, the NPA, was recruiting there.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Working people in the Philippines face deadly repression as they look for ways to defend themselves from the impact of the worldwide capitalist crisis. President Rodrigo Duterte’s government is stepping up its assaults, including the killing…


Minnesota hospital workers picket for safety, higher wages

Vol. 85/No. 16 - April 26, 2021
Several hundred SEIU members and supporters picket Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis April 7 in fight for new contract, more staffing to ensure safety, higher wages.

MINNEAPOLIS — A crowd of several hundred members of Service Employees International Union and their supporters picketed outside Abbott Northwestern Hospital here April 7 in support of the union’s demand for a new contract. When union members chanted, “When we…


Paris Commune was first workers government in history

Vol. 85/No. 15 - April 19, 2021
Meeting of elected representatives of Paris Commune, which lasted for 72 days in 1871. Karl Marx called the Commune “the glorious harbinger of a new society,” where “the proletariat for the first time held political power.” It showed the future, not just for France, but for working people worldwide.

This week’s special feature commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune, the world’s first working-class government. It lasted from March 18 to May 28, 1871, before its overthrow in a bloody counterrevolution. The excerpts below are from an article,…